The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 670 The Great Road is Completed
In September of the fourth year of Guangde, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was sitting in Edo and looking forward to moving the capital to Nanjing, never dreamed that the Tatars had taken the initiative and set out in advance before the Japanese feudal armies had completed their assembly, preparing to launch a devastating attack on the shogunate.

On the eighth day of September, 200,000 Qi troops launched an attack on Japan from three directions: Korea, Zhejiang, and Sakhalin Island.

The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 8th Corps, with 80,000 troops, formed the Central Army, which was responsible for the main attack. Deng Changxiong was the commander-in-chief, Zhao Lujiao and Qi Jin were the deputy generals. They were stationed in Busan Port and planned to land on Tsushima Island and attack the Fukuoka Domain in Kyushu. The main force would move eastward from Kyushu.

The Southern Army consisted of 60,000 troops from the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Corps, with Qin Jianxun as the commander-in-chief and Wu Aheng, Pu Gang and Wang Zengbin as deputy generals. They assembled the army at Zhoushan Port and Chongming Island, and then sailed eastward in batches to land in Kagoshima Domain in Kyushu.

The 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Corps, with 50,000 troops in the Northern Route, were led by Zheng Yishi as the commander-in-chief, with Wang Congzhi, Han Zhenyi and Suksaha as deputy generals. They marched south from Sakhalin Island, occupied Ezo, and attacked Japan from north to south.

Hokkaido, which is adjacent to Sakhalin Island, is still inhabited by the Ainu people. The Japanese call the Ainu "Ezo", and the Hokkaido region is called Ezo.

The conditions in Ezo were harsh and the land was barren, comparable to Sakhalin. The empire had just begun to develop Sakhalin, and Ezo was even more out of reach.

The indigenous people of Ezo are called Ainu people. Bear hunting is their traditional art.

Before the end of winter, Ainu hunters will find the caves where bears hibernate, kill the mother bears, take away the cubs, and when the cubs grow up, they will skin them and eat their meat.

For more than a hundred years, Japanese pirates from the south continued to encroach on Ezo, and the Ainu people rose up to fight back.

The elite Ainu archers once annexed the Southern Twelve Pavilions, but were eventually defeated by the army led by Takeda Nobuhiro due to their backward iron weapons. This is known in history as the Battle of the Manyi.

In the early years of the Edo Shogunate, the Ainu people's territory was limited to a corner of northern Hokkaido.

This time, the Ainu people were no longer facing Japanese pirates, but the Qi army, which was a hundred times more ferocious than the Japanese pirates...
~~~~~
Integrating 200,000 troops to cross the sea and land in Japan sounds too sci-fi, especially in the 17th century when industrialization had not yet been realized.

Historically, after the Wanli Korean War, Emperor Shenzong planned to launch an expedition to Japan and send 60,000 troops to solve the Japanese problem once and for all. However, after repeated discussions with his ministers, Zhu Yijun finally realized that with the national strength of the Ming Dynasty at that time, it was simply unable to send 60,000 troops to land in Japan, let alone defeat the famous generals of the Warring States Period.

However, all the problems encountered by the Ming Dynasty were easily solved in the face of the Great Qi.

Although polarization is inhumane and exploits the people, it has advantages in resource allocation and policy implementation that are unmatched by feudalism and even capitalism.

Weaken the people and strengthen the country, and use the power of the world for my own benefit. In the words of later generations, it means concentrating our efforts to accomplish great things.

This is the superiority of the Great Qi's unique polarization system.

Loneliness is engraved behind glory.

The empire has tried its best to raise the food and supplies needed for the 200,000 troops. The attack on Guangdong and Sichuan, which was originally planned to be completed this year, has been completely stopped, and the limited war resources have been concentrated on the war against Japan.

While the order to kill the Japanese caused a strong reaction in the northern provinces, the southern provinces (except Fujian) could not bear this endless exploitation and rebelled again.

The Great Qi implemented the Eastern Tax in Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces - levied according to the acreage of land - and the main targets of taxation were rich farmers and small landlords (the gentry had been wiped out).

The tax on the Eastern Expedition was twice the original tax, and was collected in one lump sum seventy years later.

Of course, if you cannot afford to pay for the time being, you are allowed to pay taxes on the mortgage and interest.

Everyone tacitly believed that this was a retaliation by the imperial court for the rebellions in Jiangxi and Zhejiang that year, because no eastern tax was levied in other places.

Seeing this situation, the small landlords and gentry in the two provinces were not big enemies, so they rose up again and launched a rebellion.

The sporadic rebellions were quickly suppressed by the Qi army, and the leading landlords and gentry were all executed and their property confiscated.

All rebellious prefectures and counties were immediately put into extreme circle politics. To a certain extent, Liu Zhaosun had already laid low, and as for the mess left behind by his excessive military spending, he decided to let Liu Kan solve it.

I believe that future generations will have more wisdom.

~~~~~
On the Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth month, Emperor Guangde Liu Kan rushed to Fengtian Hall early in the morning to pay his respects to his father as usual.

Liu Zhaosun was still practicing in the secret room of Fengtian Palace, and only Dongfang Zhu was serving him outside the stone chamber.

As the expedition against Japan was getting closer and closer and the Emperor was about to get Tokugawa Iemitsu's head, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

It’s not that he was worried that Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grandson might cause any trouble.

Master Zhang said that only by killing the evil dragon could one complete his merits, ascend to heaven and become an immortal, and achieve eternal life.

And the evil dragon is Tokugawa Iemitsu.

The retired emperor was skeptical. If becoming an immortal was really that easy, the Qin Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han would have become immortals long ago.

But he had a faint hope in his heart. Ever since he came to this time and space, he always felt that there was a supernatural force controlling everything. Every time he encountered difficulties, he could always survive. This was the case in Sarhu, the bloody battle of Hunhe, and even after the Wanggongchang explosion, he was still alive.

Apart from the supernatural explanation, it can only be said that it was the protagonist's halo at work. The emperor got inspiration from the story of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly. However, what he experienced was neither a dream nor a story in novels or movies. Everything happened in reality.

Apart from his superpowers, he could no longer explain what was happening to him.

Fortunately, the emperor was respectful and did not completely scoff at the theories of ghosts and gods.

"Perhaps everything is destined by heaven, and destiny cannot be violated. We can only maintain the righteous path, punish evil and promote good, and let the light of righteousness illuminate all parts of Da Qi..."

While the emperor was talking to himself, he could already feel Dongfang Zhu standing respectfully outside through the thick stone wall.

"Your Majesty, Emperor Guangde has been waiting for you outside for a long time."

Before Dongfang Zhu could finish his words, the thousand-pound stone door was gently pushed open from the inside.

Liu Zhaosun walked out from the dim light and shadow, looked up at Dongfang Zhu, and said with a pleasant face, "Let's go, I'll go see my son."

Dongfang Zhu saw the secret room filled with strange fragrance and divine light, and then saw the colorful auspicious clouds rising under the feet of the retired emperor. He was shocked and knelt down and said:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your great accomplishments. You can now see through walls and move mountains. You are truly a god."

The Emperor said calmly, "I am still a human, not a god."

The Grand Steward was terrified and afraid, not daring to look up. He knelt for a long time and said tremblingly, "The destruction of Japan is just around the corner. Once the Tokugawa shogunate is defeated, Your Majesty will be ranked among the immortals and live as long as the heavens! On behalf of the people, I congratulate Your Majesty!"

The Emperor shook his head and said, "I feel it."

Dongfang Zhu was at a loss.

"I sense that there is still an evil monk in Japan. Only when this villain is killed will my mission be complete."

(End of this chapter)